Washington State University soil scientist Dr. Joan Davenport will present a seminar on “The Hows and Whys of Soil Testing,” on October 29, from 3 to 4 p.m

The seminar will take place at WSU’s Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee and will be videoed live to WSU’s Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Prosser.

Soil testing is a tool for estimating nutrient availability over a single growing system. But soil is a complex system, and the soil sampling technique plays an important role in determining the utility of a soil test.

Davenport will explain what a soil test does and does not tell you and describe the types of tests available. She will also discuss how soil moisture and water management influence nutrient availability.

Davenport’s presentation will be digitally recorded and made available on the TFREC Web site.

For more information contact David Granatstein at granats@wsu.edu or Des Layne at desmond.layne@wsu.edu.

This is one of a series of WSU presentations about soils in perennial fruit systems.  A session on roots is planned for the Washington State Horticultural Association’s annual meeting on December 3, in Kennewick. A general workshop on “Building Soils for Better Crops,” is planned for December 10, in Moses Lake.